Bill Neilan

Bill Neilan was a Sinn Fein politician and Irish Republican Army leader during the Irish War of Independence.

Biography
Bill Neilan was born in Ireland to a Catholic Irish family, and he became a member of the Irish nationalist and socialist Sinn Fein party during the early 20th century. Neilan became a leader of the Irish Republican Army during the war of independence against the United Kingdom, and he was a member of the hardline faction of the IRA, refusing to accept a peace treaty with Britain to create an "Irish Free State" instead of an independent Ireland. Neilan was in favor of accepting a deal with American crime boss Enoch Thompson, importing 1,000 US Army surplus Thompson guns in exchange for exporting 10,000 cases of Irish whiskey to Atlantic City.